John Kerryhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/john-kerry
en-usFri, 09 Dec 2016 22:53:27 -0500Fri, 09 Dec 2016 22:53:27 -0500The latest news on John Kerry from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-kerry-warns-osce-of-rise-in-authoritarian-populism-2016-12KERRY: 'We all need to beware of the danger of authoritarian populism'http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-kerry-warns-osce-of-rise-in-authoritarian-populism-2016-12
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:51:00 -0500
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/584956fb5124c980674c8989-800/afp-kerry-warns-osce-of-rise-in-authoritarian-populism.jpg" alt="US Secretary of State John Kerry is on his European farewell tour, six weeks before Barack Obama's administration hands over to Donald Trump on January 20" border="0" /></p><p>Hamburg (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Thursday of "the danger of authoritarian populism" sweeping many Western democracies and cautioned against backsliding on basic freedoms.</p>
<p>"Every chip away at the fundamentals of freedom is actually an ugly building block in the road to tyranny," he told a meeting in Germany of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).&nbsp;</p>
<p>"And the fact is that we all need to beware of the danger of authoritarian populism," he told the 57-member forum.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kerry was speaking at an OSCE meeting focused on rising east-west tensions since Russia's intervention in Ukraine, but also on a rise in populist and far-right movements across Europe, a spike in refugee flows from the Arab world, and Western concern about growing authoritarianism in Turkey.</p>
<p>"In too many places ... in the OSCE region, we have seen in recent days a rise of authoritarian thinking, accompanied by backsliding on human rights, on restrictions on independent media, a spike in acts of intolerance and hate crimes," Kerry said.</p>
<p>Addressing the meeting of foreign ministers in the northern port city of Hamburg, he bemoaned a "troubling shift away from democratic principles, away from openness, away from freedom".</p>
<p>Listing other ills, he spoke of "growing corruption... increasing authoritarianism, moves by certain leaders to change constitutions in an effort to consolidate power, false news being spread through new platforms of the media, torture being actually advocated in certain quarters".&nbsp;</p>
<p>"These developments are, simply put, a direct assault on the founding principles of the OSCE," he said. "Bigotry, repression and the silencing of dissent cannot become the new normal for any of us."</p>
<p>Kerry had earlier met civil society activists from Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.</p>
<p>According to the State Department, Kerry insisted&nbsp;that Washington would keep speaking out about "the shrinking space" for civil society activism caused by restrictive laws such as labeling groups "foreign agents" and through the misuse of broad anti-extremism laws.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kerry is on his European farewell tour, six weeks before Barack Obama's administration hands over to Donald Trump on January 20.</p>
<p>Speaking on Monday in Berlin, Kerry had warned that "anxieties" were sweeping Western democracies, alluding to the US election, Brexit, Sunday's Italian referendum that cost Prime Minister Matteo Renzi his job, and the Austrian presidential vote where a far-right candidate came a strong second.</p>
<p>In his Hamburg address, Kerry said that "a free press, religious liberty, political openness, transparency in governance, a flourishing civil society -- these are the signs of a confident and thriving nation."&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-not-enforcing-syria-red-line-cost-the-us-in-mid-east-2016-12" >KERRY: Not enforcing Obama's red line in Syria 'cost' the US considerably in the Middle East</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-kerry-warns-osce-of-rise-in-authoritarian-populism-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/preauricular-sinus-small-hole-above-ear-2016-11">Here's why some people have a tiny hole above their ears</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-not-enforcing-syria-red-line-cost-the-us-in-mid-east-2016-12KERRY: Not enforcing Obama's red line in Syria 'cost' the US considerably in the Middle Easthttp://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-not-enforcing-syria-red-line-cost-the-us-in-mid-east-2016-12
Mon, 05 Dec 2016 14:02:48 -0500Natasha Bertrand
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5845b4b9ba6eb64e018b6fbe-1067/undefined" alt="John Kerry Zach Gibson Getty Images final" data-mce-source="Zach Gibson/Getty" /></p><p>The Obama administration's failure to enforce the "red line" it drew for intervention in Syria against President Bashar Assad in 2012 "cost" the US "significantly" in the Middle East, US Secretary of State John Kerry said at the annual&nbsp;<a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/12/264824.htm">Saban Forum</a> on Sunday.</p>
<p>The remark appeared to be the first time Kerry has stated that not following through on the threat to retaliate against Assad for his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-startlingly-simple-reason-obama-ignores-syria-2015-6">use of chemical weapons&nbsp;to kill 1,500 people in August 2013</a> damaged the US' reputation in the region.</p>
<p>He noted, however, that he thinks President Obama's decision&nbsp;not to attack Assad has been "misinterpreted" &mdash; Obama did want to bomb Assad, Kerry said, but he&nbsp;wanted to get approval from Congress first.</p>
<p><span>As Obama was waiting for that approval &mdash; which Kerry said was "not forthcoming" &mdash; </span><span>the US&nbsp;<span>accepted a Russian-backed </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-russia-syria-chemical-weapons-deal-key-points-assad-2013-9">deal</a><span> to eliminate&nbsp;Assad's chemical weapons stockpile in return for not enforcing the&nbsp;red line.</span></span></p>
<p><span>"I know the cost &ndash; this has been a topic of conversation here &ndash; of the President&rsquo;s decision when he decided not to enforce the redline through the bombing," Kerry said when asked if there was anything he wold have done differently during his time at the State Department.&nbsp;</span><span>"But in fact, that&rsquo;s greatly misinterpreted."</span></p>
<p><span>He continued:&nbsp;</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span><span>"People have interpreted it as his decision not to when, in fact, he never made a decision not to bomb. He made the decision to bomb. He simply decided he had to go to Congress because David Cameron lost the vote in the parliament on a Thursday, and on Friday, President Obama felt, hearing from Congress, 'Oh, you got to come to us, you got to come to us,' he would go there and get the decision. Well, the decision wasn&rsquo;t forthcoming, and in the meantime, I got a deal with Lavrov to get all of the chemical weapons out of the country."</span></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Kerry&nbsp;noted, however, that in end it "doesn't matter" if the red line promise was misinterpreted or not, because "p<span>erception can often just be the reality."</span></p>
<p><span>"We&nbsp;got a better result out of not doing it [bombing Assad], but it was the threat of doing it that brought about the result, and the lack of doing it perception-wise cost us significantly in the region," he said. "And I know that and so does the President. As much as we think it&rsquo;s a misinterpretation&ndash; it doesn&rsquo;t matter. It cost. Perception can often just be the reality."</span></p>
<p><span>Kerry concluded on a more optimistic note, however, saying that the US&nbsp;is "on the right course" in the region and will stay that way as long as "we do not retreat."</span></p>
<p><span><span>"Not just militarily with our presence and our potential use of force, but more importantly right now, our ability to try to deal with these countries&rsquo; governance and their ability to be able to address these young people and the possibilities of the future," he said. "If we don&rsquo;t do that as a country, we will be inviting a lot of other problems as a consequence."</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-not-enforcing-syria-red-line-cost-the-us-in-mid-east-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/secret-service-makes-largest-counterfeit-money-bust-peru-30-million-2016-11">The Secret Service seized $30 million in fake money in its biggest bust ever</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-members-of-skull-and-bones-2016-11The 13 most powerful members of 'Skull and Bones'http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-members-of-skull-and-bones-2016-11
Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:15:00 -0500Business Insider
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/52f2a3b8eab8eaaf49c251ad-480-/george-bush-16.jpg" alt="George Bush" width="480" border="0" /></p><p>In 1832, Yale students &mdash; including future <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso_Taft">President William Howard Taft's father</a> &mdash; founded one of America's most famous secret societies: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones">Skull and Bones</a>.</p>
<p>Since then, the group has come to signify all that both mesmerizes and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/26/geronimo.remains/index.html?iref=mpstoryview">repulses the public</a> about the elite.</p>
<p>Each year, only 15 juniors&nbsp;are "tapped," or chosen, for lifetime membership in the club.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A windowless building on 64 High St., the "Tomb," serves as the club's headquarters. The roof is a landing pad for a private helicopter, <span>according to Alexandra Robbins' book,&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Tomb-Skull-League-Hidden/dp/0316735612">"Secrets of the Tomb</a>: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power.<span>" F</span>or that perk and others, Bonesmen must swear total allegiance to the club.</p>
<p>New members reportedly divulge intimate personal details, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/skull-and-bones/">including their full sexual histories</a>, before they're inducted. They also agree to give part of their estates to the club. But, in return, they receive the promise of lifelong financial stability &mdash; so they won't feel tempted to sell the club's secrets, Robbins writes.</p>
<p>From among those business titans, poets, politicians, and three US presidents, we picked the honor roll.</p>
<p><em>Christina Sterbenz&nbsp;contributed to an earlier version of this list.</em></p><h3>William Howard Taft — Class of 1878</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4d5eaa7acadcbbec060e0000-400-300/william-howard-taft--class-of-1878.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>As the only person to serve as both president and Supreme Court chief justice, <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamhowardtaft">Taft</a> earned his spot on our list. The 27th president went by "Old Bill" during his Yale days but later earned the nickname "Big Lub."</p>
<p>Taft also received the honorary title of "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/past/issues/2000/05/robbins.htm">magog</a>," meaning he had the most sexual experience while in the secret club, according to Alexandra Robbins.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Young Taft probably found entrance into the club rather easily. His father, former Attorney General Alphonso Taft, cofounded Skull and Bones as a Yale student in 1832.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Walter Camp — Class of 1880</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/52f00797ecad04150923576c-400-300/walter-camp--class-of-1880.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>Known as the "<a href="http://www.footballfoundation.org/Programs/CollegeFootballHallofFame/SearchDetail.aspx?id=88004">father of American football</a>," Camp, with other classmates, developed the game from the Brits' version of rugby. He played in the first rugby game at Yale against Harvard in 1876.</p>
<p>Camp created many of modern football's rules, such as assessment of points and limiting the field-team to 11 men per side. But most importantly, he brought organization and esteem to the game, serving on the rules committee until his death.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Camp also established the National College Athletic Association, still operating today. During World War I, most of the armed forces conditioned using his tactics.&nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Lyman Spitzer — Class of 1935</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52f00ec1eab8eaba4323576e-400-300/lyman-spitzer--class-of-1935.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>A noted astrophysicist,&nbsp;<a href="http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/hubble_essentials/lyman_spitzer.php">Spitzer</a> dreamed up the idea behind the Hubble Space Telescope &mdash; the first method to observe space uninhibited by the Earth's atmosphere. He also lobbied NASA and Congress for the funds and oversaw production of the actual machine.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After 44 years, NASA launched the Hubble into space. The Hubble remains there today, providing stunning images of the universe and making new discoveries.</p>
<p>NASA named the <a href="http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/">Spitzer Space Telescope</a> in his honor.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-members-of-skull-and-bones-2016-11#/#potter-stewart--class-of-1937-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-members-of-skull-and-bones-2016-11The 13 most powerful members of 'Skull and Bones'http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-members-of-skull-and-bones-2016-11
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 13:45:00 -0500Abby Jackson
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/52f2a3b8eab8eaaf49c251ad-480-/george-bush-16.jpg" alt="George Bush" width="480" border="0" /></p><p>In 1832, Yale students &mdash; including future <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonso_Taft">President William Howard Taft's father</a> &mdash; founded one of America's most famous secret societies: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones">Skull and Bones</a>.</p>
<p>Since then, the group has come to signify all that both mesmerizes and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/26/geronimo.remains/index.html?iref=mpstoryview">repulses the public</a> about the elite.</p>
<p>Each year, only 15 juniors&nbsp;are "tapped," or chosen, for lifetime membership in the club.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A windowless building on 64 High St., the "Tomb," serves as the club's headquarters. The roof is a landing pad for a private helicopter, <span>according to Alexandra Robbins' book,&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Tomb-Skull-League-Hidden/dp/0316735612">"Secrets of the Tomb</a>: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power.<span>" F</span>or that perk and others, Bonesmen must swear total allegiance to the club.</p>
<p>New members reportedly divulge intimate personal details, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/skull-and-bones/">including their full sexual histories</a>, before they're inducted. They also agree to give part of their estates to the club. But, in return, they receive the promise of lifelong financial stability &mdash; so they won't feel tempted to sell the club's secrets, Robbins writes.</p>
<p>From among those business titans, poets, politicians, and three US presidents, we picked the honor roll.</p>
<p><em>Christina Sterbenz&nbsp;contributed to an earlier version of this list.</em></p><h3>William Howard Taft — Class of 1878</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4d5eaa7acadcbbec060e0000-400-300/william-howard-taft--class-of-1878.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>As the only person to serve as both president and Supreme Court chief justice, <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamhowardtaft">Taft</a> earned his spot on our list. The 27th president went by "Old Bill" during his Yale days but later earned the nickname "Big Lub."</p>
<p>Taft also received the honorary title of "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/past/issues/2000/05/robbins.htm">magog</a>," meaning he had the most sexual experience while in the secret club, according to Alexandra Robbins.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Young Taft probably found entrance into the club rather easily. His father, former Attorney General Alphonso Taft, cofounded Skull and Bones as a Yale student in 1832.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Walter Camp — Class of 1880</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/52f00797ecad04150923576c-400-300/walter-camp--class-of-1880.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>Known as the "<a href="http://www.footballfoundation.org/Programs/CollegeFootballHallofFame/SearchDetail.aspx?id=88004">father of American football</a>," Camp, with other classmates, developed the game from the Brits' version of rugby. He played in the first rugby game at Yale against Harvard in 1876.</p>
<p>Camp created many of modern football's rules, such as assessment of points and limiting the field-team to 11 men per side. But most importantly, he brought organization and esteem to the game, serving on the rules committee until his death.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Camp also established the National College Athletic Association, still operating today. During World War I, most of the armed forces conditioned using his tactics.&nbsp;</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Lyman Spitzer — Class of 1935</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52f00ec1eab8eaba4323576e-400-300/lyman-spitzer--class-of-1935.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>A noted astrophysicist,&nbsp;<a href="http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/hubble_essentials/lyman_spitzer.php">Spitzer</a> dreamed up the idea behind the Hubble Space Telescope &mdash; the first method to observe space uninhibited by the Earth's atmosphere. He also lobbied NASA and Congress for the funds and oversaw production of the actual machine.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After 44 years, NASA launched the Hubble into space. The Hubble remains there today, providing stunning images of the universe and making new discoveries.</p>
<p>NASA named the <a href="http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/">Spitzer Space Telescope</a> in his honor.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-members-of-skull-and-bones-2016-11#/#potter-stewart--class-of-1937-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-reassures-morocco-climate-summit-2016-11'We are not on a preordained path to destruction': Kerry reassures Morocco climate summithttp://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-reassures-morocco-climate-summit-2016-11
Sat, 19 Nov 2016 13:04:00 -0500Kevin Douglas Grant and Chris Bentley
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/58308280e02ba75c658b46c9-1067/john%20kerry%20zach%20gibson%20getty%20images%20final.jpg" alt="John Kerry Zach Gibson Getty Images final" data-mce-source="Zach Gibson/Getty"></p><p>Secretary of State John Kerry has attended every major United Nations summit on climate change since 1992. On Wednesday, in what may be his last international address on the topic as a cabinet member, Kerry reaffirmed US support for a global deal on climate change that President-elect Donald Trump has said he will undo.</p>
<p>“No one should doubt the overwhelming majority of Americans who know the reality of climate change and who are committed to keeping our agreement made in Paris,” Kerry said in Marrakesh. “We are not on a preordained path to destruction. We have choices. But that requires holding ourselves accountable to the hard truth. To facts, not opinions.”</p>
<p>The lingering question is, how can the US keep its promises to reduce carbon emissions under President Trump, who takes office January 20? Trump has not commented on climate policy since his Nov. 8 election, but during his campaign he rejected scientific evidence of climate change and threatened to “cancel” US involvement in the Paris agreement.</p>
<p>Parties to the Paris Agreement have pointed out <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/the-world-came-together-to-fight-climate-change-but-then-trump-got-elected/" target="_blank">it would take Trump four years</a> to formally exit the deal, which came into force on November 4. But <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-climatechange-accord-idUSKBN1370JX" target="_blank">Reuters reported this week</a> that Trump may have a shortcut. He could sign an executive order withdrawing the US from the agreement’s parent treaty, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a process that would take just one year.</p>
<p>The results of the US election last week <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/audio-world-reacts-to-trump-climate-skeptic/" target="_blank">dismayed activists</a> and <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/us-election-brought-climate-uncertainty-marrakech/" target="_blank">shocked diplomats in Marrakesh</a>, but appear not to have derailed the deal. Delegates, including those from China and the European Union, have indicated that they are prepared to press forward with efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Some even cast the United States’ imminent withdrawal from the deal as an opportunity for other countries to claim a larger share of the booming global market for clean energy technology.</p>
<p>China is already emerging as a leader on that front, reiterating its commitments to launching the world’s largest carbon trading market next year, and declaring it had passed “<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/09/china-peak-coal-climate-change?utm_content=buffer4b717&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">peak coal</a>” in 2013. One senior Beijing negotiator called for the US to stay in the agreement as the Chinese delegation began building other partnerships at the summit.</p>
<p>“It is global society’s will that all want to cooperate to combat climate change,” the Chinese official told the Financial Times.</p>
<p>EU Climate Action head Miguel Arias Cañete met with the Chinese delegation on Monday. <a href="https://twitter.com/MAC_europa/status/798136928445071360" target="_blank">Cañete tweeted</a>: “EU-China climate and clean energy leadership now more important than ever. We agreed to boost our cooperation, announcements soon.”</p>
<p><div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>
EU-China climate and clean energy leadership now more important than ever. We agreed to boost our cooperation, announcements soon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COP22?src=hash">#COP22</a> <a href="https://t.co/1MuvWbIZpO">pic.twitter.com/1MuvWbIZpO</a> </p>— Miguel Arias Cañete (@MAC_europa) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/798136928445071360">November 14, 2016</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></p>
<p>Cañete, who worked closely with Kerry in Paris, said Wednesday, “’We will stand firm on shaky ground.” He also posted a photo of himself with the outgoing US secretary and wrote, “I will miss this man.”</p>
<p>In advance of Kerry’s arrival, a coalition including China, the EU, Saudi Arabia and Brazil recommitted, while India appeared hesitant. India’s chief negotiator Ravi Prasad adding that if Trump reneges on the deal, “Everyone will rethink how this whole process is going to unfold.”</p>
<p>In a challenge to Trump, who campaigned on a promise to renegotiate trade deals, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday proposed that Europe <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/climate_desk/2016/11/if_trump_pulls_the_u_s_out_of_the_paris_agreement_france_might_carbon_tax.html?wpsrc=sh_all_mob_tw_top" target="_blank">place a carbon border tax</a> on America if it pulls out of the Paris agreement.</p>
<p>While treading carefully with their words, Kerry and other representatives of the Obama administration have attempted to downplay the potential damage Trump could have on global efforts to curb climate change. US Special Envoy for Climate Change Jonathan Pershing said he would have to “wait and see” how Trump deals with the issue, but doubted the rest of the world will pull back investments in renewable energy.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5824fcc8691e88014a8b55d8-2400/gettyimages-622166468.jpg" alt="Donald Trump" data-mce-source="Zach Gibson/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Donald Trump.">“These are things you would do because they are part of your development trajectory,” Pershing told members of the press in Marrakesh on Monday. “I think people take the issue, as they ought to, as a serious problem. And, they are moving.”</p>
<p>Kerry, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/11/14/here-are-pictures-of-john-kerry-in-antarctica-to-remind-you-global-warming-is-still-happening/?utm_term=.3f88035060de" target="_blank">who was in Antarctica</a> last week touring melting ice sheets with climate scientists, used his bully pulpit at the UN climate talks to cast global warming as a looming threat with a rapidly closing window for action.</p>
<p>“We don’t get a second chance. The consequences of failure would be irreversible. If we lose this moment for action there’s no speech decades from now that will put these ice sheets back together,” Kerry said Wednesday. “We certainly won’t have the power to hold back rising tides as they encroach on our shores. So we have to get this right, and we have to get it right now.”</p>
<p>Kerry expressed hope that Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax,” would change his position once in the White House.</p>
<p>“Some issues look a little bit different when you’re actually in office compared to when you’re on the campaign trail,” Kerry said.</p>
<p>Kerry emphasized the power of the market to drive the deployment of carbon-free energy regardless of political shifts, but warned that governmental leadership would remain essential for achieving the Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of holding average global climate change “well below” two degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>President Obama’s team on Wednesday released its plan for “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/mid_century_strategy_report-final.pdf" target="_blank">deep decarbonization</a>” by 2050. Their “mid-century strategy” lays out “how the United States can meet the growing demands on its energy system and lands while achieving a low-emissions pathway, maintaining a thriving economy, and ensuring a just transition for Americans whose livelihoods are connected to fossil fuel production and use.”</p>
<p>Implementing that plan will probably have to wait.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-reuters-photos-of-the-year-so-far-2016-11" >The 40 best Reuters photos of the year so far</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-reassures-morocco-climate-summit-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plane-drops-armored-humvees-5000-feet-2016-11">Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-donald-trump-climate-change-marrakesh-conference-2016-11KERRY: Trump's views on climate change might change once he takes officehttp://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-donald-trump-climate-change-marrakesh-conference-2016-11
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 10:18:15 -0500Yeganeh Torbati
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/582c7734e02ba738018b4894-2400/2016-11-16t131438z_1_lynxmpecaf0vb_rtroptp_4_climatechange-accord.jpg" alt="john kerry climate conference" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Mark Ralston/Pool" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a Major Economies Forum meeting at the COP22 climate change conference in Marrakech, Morocco, November 16, 2016." /></p><p>MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) &mdash;&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a speech on Wednesday at an international climate conference that he could not speculate on President-elect Donald Trump's climate policies but that his views might change when he is in office.</p>
<p>Trump has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-environment-policies-plans-platforms-2016-10">called climate change a hoax</a>, and said he would rip up the 2015 Paris deal, halt any U.S. taxpayer funds for U.N. global warming programs, and revive the U.S. coal sector.</p>
<p>"While I can&rsquo;t stand here and speculate about what policies our President-elect will pursue, I will tell you this: In the time that I have spent in public life, one of the things I&rsquo;ve learned is that some issues look a little bit different when you&rsquo;re actually in office compared to when you&rsquo;re on the campaign trail," Kerry said.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati, editing by Alister Doyle)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-climate-change-global-warming-environment-policies-plans-platforms-2016-10" >President-elect Donald Trump doesn't believe in climate change. Here's his platform on the environment</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/science-researchers-worried-trump-2016-11" >3 reasons scientists are terrified about Donald Trump's presidency</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-donald-trump-climate-change-marrakesh-conference-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/law-prohibits-trump-naming-children-cabinet-ivanka-jared-kushner-2016-11">Why Ivanka can't serve in a Trump cabinet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-kerry-says-has-not-been-contacted-by-fbi-over-new-clinton-email-review-2016-10Kerry says has not been contacted by FBI over new Clinton email reviewhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-kerry-says-has-not-been-contacted-by-fbi-over-new-clinton-email-review-2016-10
Sun, 30 Oct 2016 08:22:00 -0400
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5815daff5124c95b6fe8c27b-450-300/kerry-says-has-not-been-contacted-by-fbi-over-new-clinton-email-review.jpg" border="0" alt="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks to reporters at the State Department in Washington, U.S. October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas " /></p><p>AHERLOW, Ireland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday he had not been contacted by the FBI about new investigative steps being taken related to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.</p><p>"No, I haven't been notified of anything, no, I haven't been requested of anything, no, I'm not aware of the department being requested, and I have no further comment to make," Kerry told a news conference in Ireland where he is being awarded a peace prize.</p><p>"As an American citizen and former nominee of the party, there is a lot I'd like to say about what is going on, but I can't and I am just going to remain out of this," he added.</p><p></p><p></p><p>(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, editing by Larry King)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-kerry-says-has-not-been-contacted-by-fbi-over-new-clinton-email-review-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-election-president-social-media-restrained-60-minutes-twitter-2016-11">Trump goes on a tweetstorm less than 48 hours after promising to be more 'restrained' on Twitter</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-two-americans-captive-in-yemen-released-and-flown-to-oman-omani-media-2016-10John Kerry: Two Americans captive in Yemen have been releasedhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-two-americans-captive-in-yemen-released-and-flown-to-oman-omani-media-2016-10
Sat, 15 Oct 2016 15:58:00 -0400Reuters and Michelle Mark
<p>SANAA (Reuters) - Two Americans held captive in Yemen were freed and flown to Muscat in neighboring Oman on Saturday night after Omani officials mediated their release, Omani state media reported.</p>
<p>Oman state television broadcast footage of the two Americans disembarking from a plane belonging to the Royal Air Force of Oman. Yemenis wounded in the civil war there were also flown over for treatment in Oman aboard the same plane, it reported.</p>
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed the release, according to the Associated Press.</p>
<p>A Foreign Ministry official told the broadcaster Oman had worked with Yemeni authorities in Sanaa to secure the Americans' release. A Houthi official confirmed their departure from Sanaa.</p>
<p>The U.S. State Department expressed gratitude to the Omani government for facilitating the release and recognized the action as a "humanitarian gesture" by the Houthis, the northern Yemeni armed group that seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014.</p>
<p>"We welcome reports that two U.S. citizens who had been detained in Yemen were released and have arrived safely in Oman," the department said in a statement.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"We recognize the&lrm; humanitarian gesture by the Houthis in releasing these U.S. citizens. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of any other U.S. citizens who may still be held."</p>
<p>(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Omar Fahmy, Katie Paul and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Kevin Liffey)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-two-americans-captive-in-yemen-released-and-flown-to-oman-omani-media-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dermatologist-best-way-wash-your-face-2016-11">The 3 worst things you do when you wash your face — according to a dermatologist</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-calls-for-war-crimes-investigation-of-russia-over-syria-2016-10John Kerry calls for war-crimes investigation of Russia and Syria over Aleppo attackshttp://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-calls-for-war-crimes-investigation-of-russia-over-syria-2016-10
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 10:43:22 -0400Natasha Bertrand
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/56b0f958c08a8037018be8cc-2400/rtx246m1.jpg" alt="kerry" data-mce-source="Reuters" /></p><p>US Secretary of State John Kerry <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/cc6c0d7c92f8438698246f30bc61c3fa?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=AP#">called for a war-crimes investigation</a> of Russia and Syria over their bombardment of hospitals, civilian infrastructure, and aid workers' headquarters in Syria's largest city, Aleppo.</p>
<p>The Russian and Syrian bombing campaign in Aleppo "begs for a war crimes investigation," Kerry said on Friday during a press conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.</p>
<p>Ayrault had just arrived in Washington, DC, from Moscow, where he met with Russian officials, <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/cc6c0d7c92f8438698246f30bc61c3fa?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=AP">according to the Associated Press</a>.</p>
<p>Russia and Syrian President Bashar Assad "owe the world more than an explanation" for their attacks on hospitals in Aleppo, Kerry said, adding that the attacks are "way beyond" accidental at this point.</p>
<article>
<p>He accused Russia and Assad of employing a "targeted strategy ... to terrorize civilians."</p>
<p>"We look forward today to a very frank discussion about what potential next steps are," Kerry said. "We intend to jointly figure out how best to be able to deliver the strongest message possible about the actions that might be taken to deal with this bombing of Aleppo, this siege, in the 21st century, of innocent people."</p>
<p>Both Syria and Russia are signatories to the Geneva Conventions, which establish protections for civilians and soldiers during war. The <a href="https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Treaty.xsp?documentId=AE2D398352C5B028C12563CD002D6B5C&amp;action=openDocument">Fourth Geneva Convention</a> stipulates that civilians who find themselves in the hands of a party to the conflict (or occupying power of which they are not nationals) &mdash; otherwise known as "protected persons" &mdash; "shall not have anything done to them of such a character as to cause physical suffering or extermination."</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57f557369bd9781d008b50be-494/screen shot 2016-10-05 at 3.39.42 pm.png" alt="aleppo" data-mce-source="Reuters" /></p>
<p>Kerry said that the UN Security Council vote on a draft resolution to reinstate a ceasefire in Syria, set to take place on Saturday, would be a "moment of truth" for Moscow.</p>
<p>Russia indicated that it would not be approving the resolution, which calls on the UN to monitor a new truce and threatens to "take further measures" against any party in Syria that violates it, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>"This is not a draft which is right for adoption, I have this suspicion that the real motive is to cause a Russian veto," Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said on Friday. "I cannot possibly see how we can let this resolution pass."</p>
</article>
<p>Kerry's statement came after weeks of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-warns-us-syria-warplanes-2016-10">harsh diplomatic jabs</a> between Moscow and Washington over the Russia-backed government offensive on Aleppo.</p>
<p>"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism &mdash; it is barbarism," Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, told member nations during a Security Council meeting late last month.</p>
<p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly hit back, calling Powers' language "unacceptable." During the turbulent meeting, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, doubled down on an oft-repeated talking point: Russian airstrikes are targeting only terrorists.</p>
<p>On Monday, the US decided to suspend ties with Moscow over Russia's role in the Syrian government's scorched-earth offensive on Aleppo. <span>The offensive <span>has killed hundreds of civilians and opposition fighters in the city's rebel-held east over the past two weeks, spawning an "increased mood in support of kinetic actions against the regime," a senior administration official told The Washington Post this week.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>In response, Russia suspended a<span> nuclear and energy-related research pact with the US and deployed surface-to-air missiles to its naval base in Tartus, on Syria's western coast. </span></span></span></p>
<p>Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, suggested in a statement released on Thursday that Russia would fire on any aircraft taking offensive action near Russian troops even before identifying them, leaving open the possibility that Russia would attack US aircraft.</p>
<p><span><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/57f58ef557540c1d008b514d-2400/rtsqq1p.jpg" alt="syria aleppo" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail" data-mce-caption="A medic holds a dead child after airstrikes in the rebel held Karam Houmid neighbourhood in Aleppo, Syria October 4, 2016." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCI5AEFQIJ&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1634&amp;RH=899#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCI5AEFQIJ&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1634&amp;RH=899&amp;POPUPPN=57&amp;POPUPIID=2C0FQE4W6M41" />"Any missile or airstrikes on the territory controlled by the Syrian government will create a clear threat to Russian servicemen," the statement read. </span>"Russian air defense system crews are unlikely to have time to determine in a 'straight line' the exact flight paths of missiles and then who the warheads belong to."</p>
<p>Russian lawmakers also approved a measure on Friday that would allow Russian troops to remain stationed in Syria indefinitely.</p>
<p>Russia accused the US of "blatant aggression" after US warplanes targeted a Syrian army base on Al-Tharda mountain on September 17, killing as many as 80 Syrian troops. The Obama administration said the airstrike <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/world/middleeast/us-airstrike-syrian-troops-isis-russia.html">was meant to target the Islamic State</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-calls-for-war-crimes-investigation-of-russia-over-syria-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-negotiate-2014-6">5 Proven Strategies That Will Make You A Better Negotiator</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-warns-us-syria-warplanes-2016-10Russia has again shown that it's always one step ahead of the US in Syriahttp://www.businessinsider.com/russia-warns-us-syria-warplanes-2016-10
Thu, 06 Oct 2016 12:25:10 -0400Natasha Bertrand
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57d3432e077dcc7e128b4ae0-2400/rtsn259.jpg" alt="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) look toward one another during a news conference following their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland where they discussed the crisis in Syria September 9, 2016." data-mce-source="Kevin Lamarque/Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) look toward one another during a news conference following their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland where they discussed the crisis in Syria September 9, 2016." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;ITEMID=S1AEUAJULFAA&amp;RW=1726&amp;RH=880"></p><p>Russia deployed S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Syria's western coast on Tuesday in a move apparently aimed at preempting possible US airstrikes on Syrian army positions.</p>
<p>The move came in response to reports published earlier this week that Washington was considering targeting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, and it was followed closely by a thinly veiled threat that the missiles' radius could be "a surprise" to all unidentified flying objects operating in Syria.</p>
<p>"Any missile or airstrikes on the territory controlled by the Syrian government will create a clear threat to Russian servicemen," Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1810050779237670&amp;id=1492252324350852&amp;substory_index=0">said in a statement</a> released on Thursday.</p>
<p>He also suggested the Russians would fire on any aircraft taking offensive action near Russian troops even before identifying them, leaving open the possibility that Russia would attack US aircraft.</p>
<p>"Russian air defense system crews are unlikely to have time to determine in a 'straight line' the exact flight paths of missiles and then who the warheads belong to," the statement read. "And all the illusions of amateurs about the existence of 'invisible' jets will face a disappointing reality."</p>
<p>The statement came three days after the US formally <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/state-department-suspends-bilateral-channels-with-russia-over-syria-2016-10" target="_blank">suspended its talks with Russia over Syria</a> and a day after White House press secretary Josh Earnest questioned "Russia's credibility and intentions inside of Syria."</p>
<p>The US-based Russian embassy <a href="https://twitter.com/RusEmbUSA/status/783648651943882752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">tweeted</a> in response to Earnest's comment that "Russia will take every defensive measure necessary to protect its personnel stationed in Syria from terrorist threat."</p>
<p>The warnings are mainly a response to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fall-of-aleppo-to-assad-could-boost-extremism-and-isis-2016-10">reports from earlier this week</a> that the US officials were floating plans to launch limited airstrikes against Syrian regime positions.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57f557369bd9781d008b50be-494/screen%20shot%202016-10-05%20at%203.39.42%20pm.png" alt="aleppo" data-mce-source="Reuters"></p>
<p>"History shows that often such reports are the prologue to real action," the statement read.</p>
<p>Konashenkov said of "particular concern" was information that "the initiators of such provocations are representatives of the CIA and the Pentagon," who "today are lobbying for 'kinetic' scenarios in Syria."</p>
<p>He was apparently referring to a report in The Washington Post published on Tuesday that Russia's latest scorched-earth government offensive on Aleppo, which has killed hundreds of civilians and opposition fighters in the city's rebel-held east over the past two weeks, has spawned an "increased mood in support of kinetic actions against the regime."</p>
<p>"The CIA and the Joint Staff have said that the fall of Aleppo would undermine America's counterterrorism goals in Syria," a senior administration official told The Post.</p>
<p>Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said in a press conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that the missile systems were purely defensive and posed no threat to anyone, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>Still, some observers were quick to point out that Konashenkov's statements amounted to a warning that Russia was prepared to shoot down US warplanes operating in Syria if they target pro-Assad forces.</p>
<p>"Russia just said it will shoot down any missile or jet attacking the Syrian army; without waiting to identify it," Russia Today reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/MuradGazdiev/status/784031675554664448">Murad Gazdiev</a> tweeted.</p>
<p>"Just got a statement from Russian Ministry of Defense that basically says Russia would shoot down coalition jets if US launches airstrikes against Assad," Roland Oliphant, a Moscow correspondent for The Telegraph, <a href="https://twitter.com/RolandOliphant/status/784027031566749697">added on Twitter</a>.</p>
<p>And Nadav Pollak, a former senior fellow at the Washington Institute who is a counterterrorism analyst at the Anti-Defamation League, <a href="https://twitter.com/NadavPollak/status/784030057962450944">said:</a> "Russia is basically saying: 'If we take down a coalition jet fighter, it's your fault.' Very aggressive rhetoric."</p>
<p>Russia accused the US of "blatant aggression" after US warplanes targeted a Syrian army base on Al-Tharda mountain on September 17, killing as many as 80 Syrian troops. The Obama administration said the airstrike <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/world/middleeast/us-airstrike-syrian-troops-isis-russia.html">was meant to target the Islamic State</a>.</p>
<p>"I point out to all the 'hotheads' that following the September 17 coalition airstrike on the Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor, we took all necessary measures to exclude any similar 'accidents' happening to Russian forces in Syria," Konashenkov said.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/state-department-suspends-bilateral-channels-with-russia-over-syria-2016-10" >The State Department just cut off its bilateral channels with Russia over Syria</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-warns-us-syria-warplanes-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-warplanes-us-navy-ship-2016-4">Watch Russian warplanes fly dangerously close by a US Navy ship</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-syria-peace-efforts-must-continue-despite-break-with-russia-2016-10Kerry says Syria peace efforts must continue in spite of break with Russiahttp://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-syria-peace-efforts-must-continue-despite-break-with-russia-2016-10
Tue, 04 Oct 2016 09:04:25 -0400David Brunnstrom and Robin Emmott
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/57f3a4709bd978e7018b45c3-2400/rtsp5er.jpg" alt="RTSP5ER" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="(L-R) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov." /></p><p></p>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry criticized Russia on Tuesday for its "irresponsible and profoundly ill-advised decision" to back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and said efforts to end the war in Syria must continue, in spite of the U.S. decision to break off talks with Moscow.</p>
<p>"I want to be clear that we are not giving up on the Syrian people and we are not abandoning the pursuit of peace," Kerry said a speech in Brussels. "We will continue to pursue a meaningful, sustainable, enforceable cessation of hostilities throughout the country &ndash; and that includes the grounding of Syrian and Russian combat aircraft in designated areas."</p>
<p>The United States broke off talks with Russia on Monday on implementing a ceasefire agreement in Syria, accusing Moscow of not living up to its commitments under the a 9 deal to halt fighting and ensure aid reached besieged communities.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-next-us-president-will-have-to-avoid-these-3-dangers-in-its-frosty-relations-with-russia-2016-10" >The next US president will have to avoid these 3 dangers in its frosty relations with Russia</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-syria-peace-efforts-must-continue-despite-break-with-russia-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plane-drops-armored-humvees-5000-feet-2016-11">Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-strong-ties-between-britain-and-eu-in-us-interest-kerry-2016-10Kerry to Britain: 'We need the strongest possible E.U.'http://www.businessinsider.com/r-strong-ties-between-britain-and-eu-in-us-interest-kerry-2016-10
Tue, 04 Oct 2016 08:10:41 -0400Robin Emmott and David Brunnstrom
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57f3a12a9bd9781d008b4655-2400/rtsqoo0.jpg" alt="RTSQOO0" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry." /></p><p></p>
<p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Britain on Tuesday to maintain the closest possible links with the European Union as it negotiates to leave the bloc, saying the unity of Europe was paramount for transatlantic relations.</p>
<p>Speaking in Brussels, Kerry sought to made the case for the European Union despite the rise of anti-EU populist parties and Britain's vote to exit. He said there could be no place for isolationist policies.</p>
<p>"We need the strongest possible EU, the strongest possible UK and a highly integrated, collaborative relationship between them," Kerry said in a speech.</p>
<p>"We should never take for granted the good achieved by the unity of Europe," he said, adding that "some people do so too quickly."</p>
<p>While he said that the West needed to move on from the British referendum result, he asked: "who could credibly argue that each nation, operating in a vacuum, would somehow be more efficient and effective?"</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Robin Emmott and David Brunnstrom)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/theresa-may-government-signals-no-special-post-brexit-deals-for-financial-services-2016-10" >Theresa May doesn't care if 'hard Brexit' hurts the City — there won't be special deals</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-strong-ties-between-britain-and-eu-in-us-interest-kerry-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insectothopter-cia-dragonfly-spy-drone-military-defense-espionage-spies-2016-12">In the 1970s the CIA created a spy drone the size of a dragonfly</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/state-department-suspends-bilateral-channels-with-russia-over-syria-2016-10The State Department just cut off its bilateral channels with Russia over Syriahttp://www.businessinsider.com/state-department-suspends-bilateral-channels-with-russia-over-syria-2016-10
Mon, 03 Oct 2016 13:45:15 -0400Natasha Bertrand
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5794aa3488e4a7531b8ba36d-1500/john kerry sergei lavrov.jpg" alt="John Kerry Sergei Lavrov" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands during a joint news conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 16, 2016." /></p><p><span>The US has formally suspended its negotiations with Russia over the cease-fire in Syria amid the continued Russian aerial bombardment of Syria's largest city, Aleppo,&nbsp;</span>State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed in a <a href="https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/782995276965478400">statement released</a> Monday.</p>
<p>"This was not a decision that was taken lightly," the statement said.</p>
<p>"The US spared no effort in negotiating and attempting to implement an arrangement with Russia aimed at reducing the violence, providing unhindered humanitarian access, and degrading terrorist organizations operating in Syria.</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments," the statement continued. "Including its obligations under international humanitarian law and UNSCR 2254."</p>
<p>UNSCR 2254 is the UN Security Council Resolution adopted in December 2015 calling for a cease-fire and political settlement in Syria.</p>
<p>"Rather, Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the Cessation of Hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need," the statement said.</p>
<p>Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the US is trying to shift blame onto Russia by suspending the talks, according to Reuters.</p>
<p>State-sponsored Russian news agency RIA Novosti <a href="https://twitter.com/borzou/status/783034121362735105">reported</a> that in response to the US move, Putin&nbsp;may order Russia's Duma to pass a bill that would allow Russia to maintain a military presence in Syria indefinitely.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/579268875124c98d3bcf34e4-800/kerry-russian-foreign-minister-to-discuss-syria-in-coming-days-2016-7.jpg" alt="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands during a joint news conference following their meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov shake hands during joint news conference following their meeting in Moscow" /></p>
<p>The formal suspension comes <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-russia-syria-negotiations-2016-9">five days after</a> US Secretary of State John Kerry first threatened to cut off the negotiations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call last week that the US was preparing to "suspend US-Russia bilateral engagement on Syria ... unless Russia takes immediate steps to end the assault on Aleppo" and restore a cease-fire.</p>
<p>The State Department <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/09/262532.htm">issued a statement</a> about the call, saying "the secretary made clear the United States and its partners hold Russia responsible for this situation, including the use of incendiary and bunker buster bombs in an urban environment, a drastic escalation that puts civilians at great risk."</p>
<p>Hundreds of people <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/hundreds-killed-in-aleppo-in-fresh-fighting-1474823988">have died during the past week</a> in the worst bombings on the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo since the war began in 2011.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57ed0ca8b0ef9764008b8ea1-899/screen shot 2016-09-29 at 8.43.47 am.png" alt="Russian airstrikes Aleppo Sept 20-22 2016" data-mce-source="Institute for the Study of War" /></p>
<p>The bombings, which have also targeted rescue services in the city, punctuated the collapse of a fragile cease-fire brokered between the US and Russia earlier this month.</p>
<p>On Friday, Lavrov told the BBC that the US &nbsp;"still, in spite of many repeated promises and commitments... are not able or not willing to" separate the moderate opposition they support with former al Qaeda elements.</p>
<p>"We have more and more reasons to believe that from the very beginning the plan was to spare Nusra and to keep it just in case for Plan B or stage two when it would be time to change the regime," Lavrov said, referring to former al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Nusra cut ties with the terror organization in August and rebranded itself as&nbsp;<span>Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.</span></p>
<p><span>Deputy State Department spokesperson Mark Toner</span>&nbsp;called the allegations "absurd."</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/57ef80f55124c928357c72f4-800/ussian-jets-pound-aleppo-as-fighting-rages-inside-city.jpg" alt="A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings after an airstrike on the rebel held al-Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings after an airstrike on the rebel held al-Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo" />The now-suspended bilateral channel was part of a&nbsp;deal between the US and Russia <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-coordination-with-russia-in-syria-2016-7">to coordinate their military operations</a> in Syria and share intelligence about terrorist positions. That deal had been jeopardized by the latest scorched-earth offensive on Aleppo, however, with American and Russian diplomats exchanging diplomatic jabs early last week.</p>
<p>"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism &mdash; it is barbarism," Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told member nations at a UN Security Council meeting last Sunday.</p>
<p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by calling the language "unacceptable."</p>
<p>A Joint Implementation Center was being set up&nbsp;in Jordan, where the US and Russia were set to coordinate their activities in Syria. But all personnel who had been dispatched to the center in anticipation of the US-Russia deal were going to be withdrawn.</p>
<p>"To ensure the safety of our respective military personnel and enable the fight against Daesh, the US will continue to utilize the channel of communications established with Russia to de-conflict counterterrorism operations in Syria," Kirby said.</p>
<p>The State Department's announcement came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a treaty with Washington on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium over the US's "unfriendly acts."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/state-department-suspends-bilateral-channels-with-russia-over-syria-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-warplanes-us-navy-ship-2016-4">Watch Russian warplanes fly dangerously close by a US Navy ship</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-russia-syria-negotiations-2016-9John Kerry just threatened Russia over Syria — but Putin has no intention of ending his 'bloody chess game'http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-russia-syria-negotiations-2016-9
Wed, 28 Sep 2016 12:19:57 -0400Natasha Bertrand
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57d3432e077dcc7e128b4ae0-2400/rtsn259.jpg" alt="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) look toward one another during a news conference following their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland where they discussed the crisis in Syria September 9, 2016." data-mce-source="Kevin Lamarque/Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) look toward one another during a news conference following their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland where they discussed the crisis in Syria September 9, 2016." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;ITEMID=S1AEUAJULFAA&amp;RW=1726&amp;RH=880" /></p><p>US Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to suspend negotiations with Russia over Syria unless the Russian and Syrian aerial bombardment of the city of Aleppo ends, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.</p>
<p>Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the US was preparing to "suspend US-Russia bilateral engagement on Syria ... unless Russia takes immediate steps to end the assault on Aleppo" and restore a cease-fire.</p>
<p>The State Department <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/09/262532.htm">issued a statement</a> about the call, saying "the secretary made clear the United States and its partners hold Russia responsible for this situation, including the use of incendiary and bunker buster bombs in an urban environment, a drastic escalation that puts civilians at great risk."</p>
<p>Hundreds of people <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/hundreds-killed-in-aleppo-in-fresh-fighting-1474823988">have died over the past week</a> in the worst bombings on the rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo since the war began in 2011.</p>
<p><span>Republican senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina issued a statement that appeared to mock Kerry's attempts to intimidate Russia:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Finally, a real power move in American diplomacy.&nbsp;Secretary of State John &lsquo;Not Delusional&rsquo; Kerry has made the one threat the Russians feared most &mdash; the suspension of U.S.-Russia bilateral talks about Syria.&nbsp;No more lakeside t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;tes at five-star hotels in Geneva. No more joint press conferences in Moscow. We can only imagine that having heard the news, Vladimir Putin has called off his bear hunt and is rushing back to the Kremlin to call off Russian airstrikes on hospitals, schools, and humanitarian aid convoys around Aleppo."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>"After all, butchering the Syrian people to save the Assad regime is an important Russian goal," the statement continued.&nbsp;"But not if it comes at the unthinkable price of dialogue with Secretary Kerry.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The bombings, which have also targeted rescue services in the city, punctuated the collapse of a fragile cease-fire brokered between the US and Russia earlier this month.</p>
<p>The cease-fire was part of a deal between the US and Russia <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-coordination-with-russia-in-syria-2016-7">to coordinate their military operations</a> in Syria and share intelligence about terrorist positions. That deal has been jeopardized by the latest scorched-earth offensive on Aleppo, however, with American and Russian diplomats exchanging diplomatic jabs Sunday night and into Monday.</p>
<p>"What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counterterrorism &mdash; it is barbarism," Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told member nations at a UN Security Council meeting on Sunday.</p>
<p>Even so, most analysts who have been monitoring the conflict agree that, absent deliberate US action, only Russia can end the war.</p>
<p>"The end of the war in Syria will not be just, and it's unlikely to be peaceful," <a href="http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=64714">said Emma Beals</a>, an independent journalist and specialist on Syria. "But it will be the Russians who end the war &mdash; at this stage, they are the only ones who can."</p>
<p>The problem, however, is that they have no incentive to do so.</p>
<h2>'A bloody chess game'</h2>
<p>Kerry's willingness to walk away from the partnership is unlikely to sway Russia's determination to wipe out any and all opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's most important battleground &mdash; especially since Washington has no known plans of intervening in the conflict directly or significantly ramping up its support for moderate rebels.</p>
<p>"Ambassador Power's rhetoric is entirely hollow," Russian affairs expert Mark Kramer, the program director of the Project on Cold War Studies at Harvard, told Business Insider earlier this week. "The only thing that can change Russia's behavior now, in Syria and elsewhere, is forceful action. Rightly or wrongly, the Obama administration has no intention of taking any action vis-a-vis Syria, and thus Power's accusations amount to mere huffing and puffing."</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57e0f7165124c90b3174da1d-800/ed-cross-postpones-aid-convoys-after-aleppo-attack-2016-9.jpg" alt="Damaged Red Cross and Red Crescent medical supplies lie inside a warehouse after an airstrike on the rebel held Urm al-Kubra town, western Aleppo city, Syria September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Damaged Red Cross and Red Crescent medical supplies lie inside a warehouse after an airstrike on the rebel held Urm al-Kubra town" />Ulrich Speck, an independent foreign-policy analyst, presented a similar assessment on Wednesday of the fundamental dilemma facing Washington's efforts to negotiate with Moscow: Russia has no incentive to end the war, and the US has no leverage.</p>
<p>"Russia has no incentive to end the war in Syria as long as the rebels fail to win massive Western support," Speck <a href="http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=64714">wrote for Carnegie</a> on Wednesday. "The military alliance between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran, and Russia has managed to make constant progress and appears set to regain control over the whole of Syria."</p>
<p>In fact, walking away from the deal at this point may serve as a signal to Russia that the US is washing its hands of the conflict, decisively forfeiting the country to Moscow as a Russian sphere of influence.</p>
<p>"The absence of the United States from the field leaves most of the shots available to the Kremlin," Gianni Riotta of the Council on Foreign Relations <a href="http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=64714">wrote for Carnegie</a> on Wednesday.</p>
<p>"The <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN11V0EY" target="_blank">shouting match at the UN Security Council</a> on September 25 between the US and Russian ambassadors matched the worst episodes of the Cold War, with the violent exchange leaving other diplomats aghast," Riotta continued. "So do not expect Putin to stop bombing Aleppo &mdash; civilians or rebels. He is playing a bloody chess game, and Syria is just a pawn."</p>
<h2>'No intention of pressuring Assad'</h2>
<p>Many experts doubted how effective the joint plan would be to begin with, given the hugely disparate objectives Russia and the US have for the country and the region.</p>
<p>"It is obvious by now that US-Russian cooperation over Syria is impractical because the objectives of the two sides are fundamentally divergent," Kramer of Harvard said. "Temporary cease-fires have proved to be mostly illusory because Russia has no intention of pressuring Assad to make concessions."</p>
<p>"Russian officials are not going to change what they are doing simply because the United States decries it," Kramer added. "In the 1990s, the Russian government cared what Western governments thought, but that era is long over."</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/556794686da811a159211ca1-2400/rtx119s4.jpg" alt="Dmitry Peskov" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov" data-mce-caption="Russia's President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting with the Venezuelan delegation, led by President Nicolas Maduro, at the Kremlin in Moscow, July 2, 2013." /></p>
<p>Indeed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the language used at the UN Security Council meeting by the US "unacceptable." At the meeting itself, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, doubled down on an oft-repeated talking point: Russian airstrikes are targeting only terrorists.</p>
<p>Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which was known as Jabhat al-Nusra before it formally severed ties with Al Qaeda, has a presence in the city. It was an instrumental part of the military alliance of several rebel brigades known as Jaysh al Fateh <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/syria-aleppo-opposition-groups-battle-2016-8">that helped the mainstream Free Syrian Army</a> regain control over a significant portion of Aleppo early last month.</p>
<p>But the Russian and Syrian bombs are being dropped indiscriminately on the opposition-controlled east, where more than 250,000 civilians are under siege.</p>
<p>Even if Russia decided it wanted to end the war &mdash; which is unlikely, given the leverage it offers Moscow over Washington &mdash; the consequences would be devastating at best.</p>
<p>"If Russia decided to end the conflict, it would probably do so in the way it assaulted Grozny in 1999-2000," Marc Pierini of Carnegie Europe wrote on Wednesday.</p>
<p>That is, "by razing anything that still stands and by mercilessly targeting fighters, civilians, humanitarian workers, hospitals, and ambulances alike &mdash; as it does on a daily basis in Aleppo now."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-russia-syria-negotiations-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/northrop-grumman-stealth-bomber-air-force-aviation-military-2016-11">America's B-2 stealth bomber is unlike any military aircraft in the world</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/failed-ceasefire-making-things-worse-syria-2016-9The failed cease-fire has just made things worse in Syriahttp://www.businessinsider.com/failed-ceasefire-making-things-worse-syria-2016-9
Sat, 24 Sep 2016 10:02:55 -0400Pamela Engel
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/57e59e51b0ef9764008b7ee1-2400/rtr4vfed.jpg" alt="John Kerry" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waits with others before a meeting with P5+1, European Union and Iranian officials at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne March 30, 2015, during Iran nuclear talks." /></p><p>The Obama administration is often criticized for its lack of action on Syria, but in some cases, doing nothing might be better than a cease-fire gone wrong.</p>
<p>Hassan Hassan, a fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and an expert on Syria, warned that public opinion on the US is already so low inside Syria that a failed deal is dangerous to US credibility in the future.</p>
<p>"It's something the American administration, the Obama administration, is not realizing," Hassan told Business Insider. "That every time they try something that is not a perfect solution or &hellip; not a good solution, half-solution, obviously flawed, the situation after that option fails is much worse than before it failed. So sometimes not trying is better than trying something bad, something flawed."</p>
<p>The cease-fire was supposed to allow humanitarian aid to get through to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-aleppo-2016-9">besieged areas like Aleppo</a>, a city where civilians have lived with daily bombardments and a dire lack of food and medical supplies, and eventually facilitate joint efforts between the US and Russia to target terrorists in Syria.</p>
<p>But the Syrian regime reportedly blocked most aid from reaching rebel-held areas and then declined to extend the seven-day deal.</p>
<p>The failure of the cease-fire likely ended up helping a militant group that was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nusra-al-qaeda-split-2016-7">until recently affiliated with Al Qaeda</a> and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, an authoritarian ruler whom the US has been urging to leave power to bring peace to Syria.</p>
<p>"Jabhat Fatah al-Sham gained some street credibility," Hassan said.</p>
<p>The group was previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, and it was Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. Because of its clear terrorist ties, it was a prime target of US airstrikes. The group now likely hopes that its recent rebranding will make it more palatable to Syrians and Westerners alike.</p>
<p>And the failed cease-fire plays into its narrative that the US isn't really trying to help Syrians. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham is already one of the most powerful rebel groups fighting the Assad regime, so the more US measures to aid the moderate opposition fall short, the more appeal well-equipped extremist groups have.</p>
<p><img src="/image/57e2751c5124c9286080cca0-800/fighting-further-buries-hopes-for-syria-truce-2016-9.jpg" alt="People inspect damage after an airstrike on the rebel held Urm al-Kubra town, western Aleppo city, Syria September 20, 2016.
REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="People inspect damage after an airstrike on the rebel held Urm al-Kubra town" /></p>
<p>Hassan predicted Jabhat Fatah al-Sham's next narrative: "They could say now, 'look, the Americans are not interested in anything. We tried. We dropped the name of Al Qaeda from our public discourse. We said to the Americans time and again we're not interested in any foreign attacks in the West. We are committed to a Syrian cause. We said all these things. And yet, the Americans are desperate to work with the regime against us directly or indirectly.'"</p>
<p>Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war for more than five years. The US has supported the moderate opposition, whose primary goal is to oust Assad, but there are other players on the battlefield as well. Russia got involved last year to support its ally, Assad, and Islamist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda have also fought for territorial control in the hopes of establishing an Islamic emirate in Syria.</p>
<p>The Obama administration has declined to push too hard to force Assad from power, and that lack of action together with failed cease-fires make Syrians suspicious of US motives. And the fact that the US has been negotiating the deals with Russia doesn't help, considering that Russia has made its motives in the country clear.</p>
<p>"You just need to look at the solidarity of voices by various opposition figures, individuals on social media, even journalists who used to be critical of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham or Jabhat al-Nusra are now openly saying, 'look, the Americans are really working with the Russians. They're not working with us. They're not our friends. They're our enemies, in the same way that Russia is," Hassan added.</p>
<p>Hassan said this view has become mainstream in Syria.</p>
<p>"I think more than ever before in the conflict, the US is seen as desperate to help the regime somehow," Hassan went on.</p>
<p>Syrians "say the regime is weak and the Russians and Iranians have failed to prop up the regime enough, and now the Americans are trying to target the groups that are the most powerful groups," Hassan noted, referring to the rebel groups like Jabhat Fatah al-Sham that are not included in cease-fire deals because of their terrorist ties.</p>
<p>"People inside, they believe in this conspiracy theory. And it shouldn't be shunned, disregarded, overlooked. Perception matters and the perception today is that the US is not working to help the Syrian opposition. It's indirectly helping the regime by design or by coincidence."</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/57753aff5124c9ef0b6989ba-800/west-cooperating-secretly-with-damascus-against-militants-assad.jpg" alt="Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C) joins Syrian army soldiers for Iftar in the farms of Marj al-Sultan village, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on June 26, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Syria's President Bashar al-Assad joins Syrian army soldiers for Iftar in the farms of Marj al-Sultan village" /></p>
<p>Assad himself has openly encouraged views like this.</p>
<p>He <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/c6cfec4970e44283968baa98c41716bd">said in an interview with the Associated Press</a> this week: "Whatever the American officials said about the conflicts in Syria in general has no credibility. Whatever they say, it's just lies and, let's say, bubbles, has no foundation on the ground."</p>
<p>Hassan said the US needs to stands its ground with these deals and cancel them if there are violations. This week, Secretary of State John Kerry said he still wanted to restore the cease-fire despite Russian violations.</p>
<p>"If you agree with the Russians on something, you either say that, 'it's not working because the Russians and the regime have violated this,' or you demand compliance, not try to justify and sound desperate, try to give the Russians more time and say, 'how about until Monday to make sure aid is delivered in Syria,'" Hassan said.</p>
<p>He continued: "I think the best way now with Americans making the situation much worse by the day &hellip; is to just really pull back quietly, wait until they reach something, come up with a new strategy to deal with the situation. It looks really bad in the region, inside Syria and outside. You're just losing faith basically."</p>
<p>Since the cease-fire fell apart, rebel-held areas have faced massive bombardments and a UN convoy was hit while trying to deliver aid to civilians.</p>
<p>Robert Ford, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute who was a US ambassador to Syria from 2010 to 2014, told Business Insider last week that deals brokered with the help of Russia are unlikely to work.</p>
<p>"The Russians have consistently shielded the Syrian government from the repercussions of its renewed use of chemical weapons, war crimes such as indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, and blocking humanitarian aid access," Ford said. "They have repeatedly lied to try to absolve the Syrian government if its crimes."</p>
<p>He continued: "The Americans should be very wary of any thought that the possibility of new US-Russian military coordination in Syria will lead to any change in Russian goals or behavior.&nbsp;There is certainly no sign that Russia is prepared to push really hard on the Syrian government to make some big compromises at a political negotiation the Obama administration hopes might solve the Syrian crisis."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/who-benefits-from-syrian-ceasefire-2016-9" >The Syrian cease-fire could have a victor the US didn't intend</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/failed-ceasefire-making-things-worse-syria-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-isis-exists-iraq-syria-pentagon-military-2016-6">EX-PENTAGON CHIEF: These are the 2 main reasons ISIS was born</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-secretary-worried-us-alliance-russia-syria-2016-9Secretary of US Air Force: We're worried about a US-Russia alliance in Syriahttp://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-secretary-worried-us-alliance-russia-syria-2016-9
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:01:08 -0400Christian Lowe
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/57e2ef76b0ef97eb018b752c-1974/ap167585997921.jpg" alt="U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James attends the Paris Air Show" data-mce-source="AP" /></p><p></p>
<p>NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. &mdash; The Air Force&rsquo;s top civilian leader didn&rsquo;t mince words Sept. 20 when she doubted Moscow&rsquo;s ability to make good on potential military cooperation with&nbsp;the United States in targeting Islamic State forces in Syria, saying Russia likely can&rsquo;t be counted on to stick to the deal.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This would be a &lsquo;transactional&rsquo; situation, it&rsquo;s not a situation where there&rsquo;s a great deal of trust,&rdquo; Air Force Sec. Deborah Lee James said during a briefing with reporters at the 2016 Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference.</p>
<p>US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a deal with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in mid-September, saying that coalition and Russian aircraft would work together to target terrorist forces in Syria after a week-long cease-fire. It is unclear whether the deal will stick after reports that an aid convoy was targeted during the lull in fighting, with both sides pointing fingers at the other for breaking the terms of the short truce.</p>
<p>Wading into diplomatic waters, James also warned that allying with Russia could anger US partners in the ongoing operations against ISIS in Syria, hinting that countries like Turkey and Baltic state partners would balk at cooperating on strikes if Russians are in the room.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Coalition cohesion will be important,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;We have more than 60 countries participating in this &mdash; we wouldn&rsquo;t want to lose coalition members.&rdquo;</p>
<p>But James offered her starkest critique of the&nbsp;Russian military on an issue that has increasingly plagued American military efforts overseas in the court of public opinion. Top US military&nbsp;officials are worried that if Russia and the US are jointly running air strikes, America will share the blame for bombs that go astray.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are extremely precise with our weaponry, Russia is not,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;So we would want to have some form of accountability for the dropping of these weapons to ensure that if there are civilian casualties, clearly it&rsquo;s not us.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Military officials have been increasingly pressed on how the US and its allies would work alongside Russian forces in Syria on everything from coordinating air strikes to sharing intelligence on enemy positions. Most military leaders, particularly in the Air Force, have taken a "wait and see" attitude, wondering whether the diplomatic rapprochement will ever result in a military alliance.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Once the decisions are&nbsp;made on how this cooperation will occur &hellip; and we see that the cease-fire holds for the time that the secretary of state has laid out, then we&rsquo;re going to step very carefully to make sure that what is said in terms of the intent actually&nbsp;results in actions,&rdquo; said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fight-against-islamic-state-cover-russia-imperial-2016-9" >Karl Rove: Russia is using the fight against ISIS as cover for an imperial gamble</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-secretary-worried-us-alliance-russia-syria-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/b-52-demonstrate-uss-nuclear-power-air-force-2016-9">Watch 12 B-52s take off in an exercise to demonstrate the US's 'nuclear prowess'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-kerry-calls-for-no-aircraft-flying-over-key-syria-aid-routes-2016-9Kerry to Syria, Russia: Ground your air forces to 'give a chance for humanitarian assistance'http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-kerry-calls-for-no-aircraft-flying-over-key-syria-aid-routes-2016-9
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 11:04:00 -0400Bradley Klapepr
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57e2a0755124c999135af8aa-800/ap-kerry-calls-for-no-aircraft-flying-over-key-syria-aid-routes.jpg" alt="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a Security Council meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)" border="0" /></p><p>UNITED NATIONS (AP) &mdash; U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wants all aircraft over key humanitarian routes in northern Syria grounded in order to give peace a chance.</p>
<p>Kerry told the U.N. Security Council that such a step could restore credibility to efforts to end the five-year civil war and "give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded."</p>
<p>A U.S.-Russian cease-fire agreement reached on Sept. 9 has all but collapsed. And the U.N. suspended aid deliveries after a strike on a humanitarian convoy this week that killed a dozen people.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/un-aid-trucks-airstrike-syria-us-russia-relations-2016-9" >'Sickening' airstrike on UN aid trucks in Syria may be the last straw in US-Russia relations</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-kerry-calls-for-no-aircraft-flying-over-key-syria-aid-routes-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-compared-syrian-refugees-poisoned-skittles-2016-9">Here’s how Skittles responded to Trump Jr. comparing the candy to Syrian refugees</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/un-aid-trucks-airstrike-syria-us-russia-relations-2016-9'Sickening' airstrike on UN aid trucks in Syria may be the last straw in US-Russia relationshttp://www.businessinsider.com/un-aid-trucks-airstrike-syria-us-russia-relations-2016-9
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 10:41:28 -0400Alex Lockie
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/57b47c4bdb5ce94e008b72ff-844/screen shot 2016-08-17 at 11.00.30 am.png" alt="Russian airstrike syria bomber" data-mce-source="Russian Ministry of Defense" data-mce-caption="Combat usage of long-range bombers Tu-22M3 against objects in Syria." data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUgNLpjR-ME" /></p><p></p>
<p>A week into a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/who-benefits-from-syrian-ceasefire-2016-9">cease-fire in Syria</a> brokered by Russia and the US, Russian-made warplanes hit a UN aid convoy traveling to the besieged town of Aleppo to provide relief to Syrians at the scene of some of the most intense fighting in the country's five-year civil war.</p>
<p>At least 18 of 31 trucks in a UN and Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy were hit and 12 people were killed, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN11P146">according to Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the airstrike "sickening" in remarks on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York.</p>
<p>"Present in this hall today are representatives of governments that have ignored, facilitated, funded, participated in or even planned and carried out atrocities inflicted by all sides of the Syria conflict against Syrian civilians," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/sep/20/un-general-assembly-obama-final-address-syria-ceasefire-refugees-live-updates?page=with:block-57e13456e4b0603ea33c4450#block-57e13456e4b0603ea33c4450">Ban said</a>.</p>
<p>"It started with an hour of extremely fierce bombing," Besher Hawi, the former spokesman for the opposition's Aleppo city council, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/aid-trucks-hit-by-airstrikes-syria-2016-9">told Reuters of the air raid</a>. "Now I can hear the sound of helicopters overhead. The last two were barrel bombs."</p>
<p>Because the Syrian regime, which has been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/assad-might-have-hidden-some-of-syrias-deadliest-chemical-weapons-2016-9">linked to chemical warfare against civilians</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/massive-and-systemetized-violence-the-un-just-released-a-horrifying-report-on-assads-human-rights-abuses-2016-2">other war crimes</a>, flies Russian-made jets, it can be hard for ground forces distinguish them from the Russian air force, which also carries out airstrikes in Syria, reportedly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/23-dead-from-suspected-russian-airstrike-on-hospitals-school-in-syria-2016-2">sometimes on hospitals</a> or <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-syria-banned-incendiary-weapons-civilians-2016-8">with banned munitions</a>.</p>
<p>Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-the-latest-un-suspends-syria-convoys-after-aid-trucks-hit-2016-9">told The Associated Press</a> that the Syrian air force "does not have the capabilities to carry out such airstrikes within two hours." Abdurrahman added that "it was mostly Russian warplanes who carried out the air raid."</p>
<h2>Future of US-Russian relations</h2>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5648a7b011231419008b53b9-800/obama and putin.jpg" alt="Obama and Putin" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst" data-mce-caption="U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin (back to camera) as they gather for a family photo with fellow world leaders at the start of the G20 summit at the Regnum Carya Resort in Antalya, Turkey, November 15, 2015." /></p>
<p>"The United States is outraged by reports that a humanitarian aid convoy was bombed near Aleppo today," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "The United States will raise this issue directly with Russia. Given the egregious violation of the cessation of hostilities we will reassess the future prospects for cooperation with Russia."</p>
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry had described the cooperation between the US and Russia as possibly "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-russian-ceasefire-may-be-last-chance-to-save-syria-2016-9">the last chance we have to save a united Syria</a>," and that a truce between the two powers leading to negotiations to end the war "is the only realistic possible solution."</p>
<p>But the Syrian military has declared the cease-fire over, an official failure that comes to a close after the US mistakenly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-syria-ceasefire-seen-near-collapse-2016-9">killed more than 60 Syrian soldiers</a> in an airstrike, and the aid convoys <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-un-idUSKCN10T0ZC">Russia promised to let through to Aleppo</a> were bombed.</p>
<p>While the US can claim it had faulty information on the position of the Syrian troops, the position of the UN aid convoy was known to all parties and clearly marked as a humanitarian effort.</p>
<p>A senior US official told Reuters he was not sure if US-Russian relations could be salvaged at this point, as the countries back opposite sides in the Syrian conflict, and their latest attempt at cooperation proved disastrous.</p>
<p>"At this point the Russians have to demonstrate very quickly their seriousness of purpose because otherwise there will be nothing to extend and nothing to salvage," the official told Reuters.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arab-countries-foreign-policy-ambitions-could-start-hurting-their-economies-2016-9" >Arab countries' foreign policy ambitions could start hurting their economies</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/un-aid-trucks-airstrike-syria-us-russia-relations-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-isis-exists-iraq-syria-pentagon-military-2016-6">EX-PENTAGON CHIEF: These are the 2 main reasons ISIS was born</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-humanitarian-aid-trucks-will-reach-8-locations-in-aleppo-2016-9Kerry says humanitarian aid trucks will reach 8 locations in Aleppohttp://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-humanitarian-aid-trucks-will-reach-8-locations-in-aleppo-2016-9
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 09:24:45 -0400
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57c409ff5124c9fd42420009-728/kerry-in-bangladesh-for-talks-on-security-human-rights-2016-8.jpg" alt="U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attends a news conference after a meeting on Syria with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Kerry attends a news conference after a meeting on Syria in Geneva" /></p><p></p>
<p>Humanitarian aid deliveries were expected to reach eight or more locations in areas of war-torn Syria on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said amid signs that a Syrian ceasefire may be in deep trouble.</p>
<p>"It was quite good last night," Kerry replied when asked whether the Syrian truce was holding, adding: "Trucks are moving today to maybe eight locations or more so we'll see where we are today. Let's wait..." He was speaking at the start of U.N. meetings in New York with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-syria-ceasefire-seen-near-collapse-2016-9" >Syria ceasefire 'practically dead and has ended'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kerry-says-humanitarian-aid-trucks-will-reach-8-locations-in-aleppo-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-navys-unstoppable-lcac-hovercraft-land-water-amphibious-landing-craft-2016-11">The US Navy has an unstoppable hovercraft that can go from water to land in seconds</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-trump-climate-change-2016-9John Kerry takes jab at Trump in talk at UN summithttp://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-trump-climate-change-2016-9
Sun, 18 Sep 2016 19:26:01 -0400Pamela Engel
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/57df1f30077dcc7e128b67d5-1171/john kerry.jpg" alt="John Kerry" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst" data-mce-caption="2016U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waits his turn to speak as he and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir address reporters alongside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministerial meeting in Manama, Bahrain April 7, 2016." /></p><p>Secretary of State John Kerry took a swipe&nbsp;at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during a discussion&nbsp;at&nbsp;a summit hosted by the United Nations Foundation and Mashable on Sunday.</p>
<p>Speaking at the Social Good Summit ahead of UN General Assembly week, Kerry criticized Trump for not believing in climate change and subtly rebuked some of his key campaign positions.</p>
<p>"We need leadership that understands" climate change, Kerry said in his talk at the 92nd St. Y in New York City. "It's astounding to me that we've had people running for president &hellip; who don't even acknowledge that climate change is taking place."</p>
<p>Kerry also negated the idea that trade deals are hurting the US economy.</p>
<p>Trump has insisted throughout his campaign that bad trade deals have cost US jobs, and promised to cancel deals that "rip off" America.</p>
<p>"We have learned you can't shut off the world," Kerry said. "95% of the world's customers live in other countries. People are fighting this concept of trade, but trade is not the problem."</p>
<p>He continued: "It's how we treat workers who are dislocated by transition or what we do with people to be able to not just see the upper 1% of American income earners doing well while everybody else is either struggling to hold where they are or falling behind. That's a problem of our tax code, it's a problem of our political finance system and a whole lot of other things, but not the fault of trade itself."</p>
<p>Kerry said the US needs better safety nets&nbsp;"to help people go to school, get ongoing education, find a job at age 45 or 50 or whatever it is, be able to move into another sector."</p>
<p>Kerry also made the case that US involvement in the world is crucial &mdash; another divergence from Trump's platform, which some experts <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-rhetoric-scaring-asian-nations-2016-5">have characterized as isolationist</a>. While Trump has advocated for stronger ties with countries like Russia, he has run on a platform of putting "America first."</p>
<p>"What we need, frankly, is a larger commitment by the United States to help lead other countries," Kerry said. "At the end of World War II, we did&nbsp;the Marshall Plan. And people were not for it, by the way. Harry Truman had to work like hell to get that through."</p>
<p>He said that people should view diplomacy less as "dropping bombs on people and being engaged in war" and more as "helping to educate people and build healthcare capacity and create stability and show people how technology can lead to transparency and governance."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-trump-climate-change-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-moore-president-obama-legacy-2016-11">MICHAEL MOORE: These are Obama's biggest failures and accomplishments</a></p>